To begin, I have spent a decent amount of time researching this issue and have tried a number of remedies.

My issue: I would like be able to use the Curve 8320 to surf the net over wi-fi without a data plan. I don't see why this is an unreasonable request given that I do the same thing with my laptop at home, in Starbucks, at work and at the local library. This issue has become quite frustrating because there have been people who have posted that they have been able to use their Blackberry's without a data plan.

What I have done:

wiped out phone shortly after receiving it from EBAY

was able to surf the web before I realized I was getting charged...promptly had T-Mobile block data on my account

I asked T-mobile if I could use WI-Fi without a data plan and the rep said, "yes."

Turned of data on the phone

updated the phone with Blackberry's 4.5 OS?

Downloaded Opera Mini to my PC and then successfully installed it on the 8320

changed the browser to "hotspot browser"

enabled the firewall on the phone

edited Opera Mini preferences to "allow"

My thoughts:

When I wiped the phone, did I also wipe necessary service books?

It

seems that the Blackberry and T-mobile browser would not allow me to connect to the internet. This is why I downloaded Opera Mini. Was this a correct move?

Sorry I forgot to mention the current errors I'm getting when trying to use Opera Mini:

When I attempt to use Opera Mini, I get an error message that it was trying to "connect to a low-level network." I did some research and then edited the setting in Opera Mini to "Allow," I also enable the firewall on the phone.

Then when I tried Opera Mini, I got a new error message that said, "the application operette 4$2dhifi has attempted to open a connection to a location inside the firewall and outside the firewall which is, not allowed by your IT policy."

I called T-Mobile and they said I should not have a problem using wi-fi without a data plan.

I went the FAQ section and followed the directions that someone posted. These were to download and install: JL_Cmder\JL_Cmder.cmd. I first made a backup of my data (as per the directions) and then ran the program above to clear security settings/IT policies. The phone screen looked as though it changed to what it would have been out of the box in 2007, and then, as per the directions, I went back into Desktop Manager to restore my previous settings (backup).

I then opened the Opera Mini browser I had installed and got the message, "....trying to access a low-level connection" and I thought it was not going to work, but I answered "YES" to the prompts and IT WORKED!!

I then tried the hotspot browser and that WORKED TOO!!!

So this issue seems to be that whatever IT policy the phone had from the previous owner was not allowing connection to the internet even though the phone recognized the network.

Because I had also adjusted other settings and wiped the phone, I am not sure if I could have just ran the program above (JL_Cmder\JL_Cmder.cmd) and everything would have been fine. In other words, I don't know if any previous changes I had made would have been necessary. For instance, among other changes, I updated the phone to OS 4.5 and I'm not sure it if this was a necessary step in the process.

Thank you for directing me to the FAQ's and I truly appreciate the person who posted the information about how to remove previous IT policies, because as he/she mentioned, about 80% of the people out there have Blackberry's they got from EBAY (I'm not sure this statistic is true, but I'm sure there are many people who have picked up second-hand Blackberry's instead of allowing them to rot).

Unfortunately, it turns out that I was unsuccessful in getting on to the internet. After I was able to use the internet with both browsers, I checked my mobile service options and found that I had left data services "ON." When I changed this setting to "Off," I once again got the following error message when attempting to access the internet with Opera Mini: